Doha Learning Days Festival to be an annual standalone event: WISE CEO

Doha Learning Days (DLD) Festival, an initiative of Qatar Foundation's World Innovation Summit for Innovation (WISE), will be a standalone annual event hereafter, disclosed a top official.
“Earlier we used to have it as a precursor to the WISE summit. From this year, it will be a standalone annual event with more and more partners from across Qatar,” said, Stavros N Yiannouka, CEO, WISE.
DLD is focusing more on innovation and out of the box thinking for all the participants and the event is open to the public in the evenings, he explained.
“At Doha Learning Days Festival, we are very much focused on innovative and experiential learning that can take place not just in the class rooms alone but outside the class rooms as well. So there are activations involving sports, activations involving technology, virtual reality or the metaverses as they are called. It also includes arts, creativity, and storytelling among others. Our partners include the Qatar Museums, the Qatar National Library and others. Several hundreds of students are participating in the programmes and it is open to the public in the evenings,” he explained.
The WISE CEO also noted that 2022 WISE Awards winners were honoured at the DLD launch event and plans and actions are afoot for the 2023 WISE summit.
The DLD continued with several activities Friday and with a special focus on youth empowerment and DLD is creating a lively, stimulating space for meaningful experiential education.
The festival, which concludes Saturday is encouraging everyone in the community to embrace lifelong learning with over 50 activities that cater to all ages and interests. The programme is open to all from 5pm-9pm with free admission.
Helping to create a vibrant atmosphere for youth empowerment, Qatar Sports for All Federation is hosting fitness sessions, an obstacle course, target shootout, badminton and tennis, and self-defence for a fun and wholesome family experience. Further emphasising personal well-being, “Well, well, well, what do you know?”, presented by The Learning Centre’s DARB initiative, can give participants the tools to prioritise their mental health.
There are many activities to look forward Saturday at DLD, including immersive activities across science and technology, environment and sustainability, arts and culture, sport and wellbeing, and social awareness.
Each of the festival’s activities engages participants fully in the learning experience, and one example is “Empowering Insaniyatna”. The session will involve youth in a collaborative activity and create a positive environment to discuss Insaniyatna (our humanity). It forms part of Insaniyatna’s aim to educate youth on the importance of equal access for people with disabilities and encourage innovative ideas relating to people with intellectual challenges and physical disabilities.
Interactive awareness exercises by the Best Buddies Friendship volunteer programme will put participants’ knowledge of social inclusion issues to the test. Accompanied by their peers without disabilities, the session will emphasise their organisational mission and vision of fostering friendship and inclusion, and building awareness of inclusivity and diversity.
Shahd Dauleh, learning ecosystems associate at WISE, said: “Doha Learning Days strives to make experiential learning accessible and beneficial to people of all ages and backgrounds in the wider community. With the festival, WISE aims to cultivate a positive experience in which learning can have wider applicability in our everyday lives and within a community atmosphere.”
Amplifying the festival’s aim to equip youth with beneficial skills, Microsoft will challenge participants to replicate stadiums in Qatar and compete as a team using the game-based platform, Minecraft Education. Participants can unleash their creativity in a fun guided event by Trinity Talent Qatar, by following an artist step by step in creating their own work of art on a variety of media.
An exclusive masterclass with the six 2022 WISE Awards winners taking place Saturday will explore holistic solutions in K-12 education and community action through education, an opportunity for teachers and practitioners to acquire practical tools and methods from a remarkable group of innovators.